Because I continue to have unexplained odd head pains, and pulsatile tinnitus, I have to go in early tomorrow morning for an MRI of my head.
They asked if I was claustrophobic and I had to answer “I don’t know”. Smallish spaces don’t bug me, but a very small space might be different. Also, I sometimes get muscle cramps in my back if I have to lie flat out, and I’m worried this might happen and cause me to move during the MRI.
Who has had this type of MRI? How did it go?
I thought they could do MRIs of just your head as opposed to your whole body in the machine.
Personally, I am not claustrophobic in such a situation. I had one where my whole body was put in a narrow tube and told not to move. A fan was at my head blowing air in and the machine was very loud (fan + machine). I had to stay mostly still for 30(ish) minutes (I forget exactly, you lose track of time in there).
If you can chill out and daydream it’s not bad at all. If you are thinking of every moment time goes slow and it seems to take a long, boring time. If you are claustrophobic you may not manage at all and need to stop (you can stop it at any time but it ruins the test).
Considering alternative testing methods tend to be more invasive and unpleasant I think an MRI is well worth dealing with but YMMV. Phobias suck and are real.
Was not a problem for me.
If they don’t offer it, ask if they have headphone that they can pipe some music or a radio channel thru, it might help keep your mind occupied.
I had a head MRI about 4 years ago when I had a blocked salivary gland. I had a little trepidation beforehand, assuming it would be a full body device, but it turned out to be a head-only device, so it was not at all claustrophobic and really a piece of cake to do.
I’ve never had the need to have a full-body MRI done, so I can’t speak to that. Claustrophobia is, I think, not one of my particular phobias, so I think I’d deal with a full-body MRI ok, but I’m not sure.
As a bonus, the doc gave me a DVD of my MRI with an app on the DVD that allowed me to scan through my entire head in cross-section as an animation. Pretty freaky-deaky.
Having been the lucky winner of both an acquired brain injury and a benign pituitary tumour I’ve had about 20 head MRIs since 2000.
I’m not claustrophobic, but it is constrained in the bore of the MRI. You will likely have a strap lightly across your forehead to remind you to stay still and there may be a coil over your head. There is a mirror above your eyes so you can see the operators in the booth and you are given a squeeze bulb which will stop the scan if you need it.
All the MRIs I have been in are the traditional lie on your back enclosed MRIs, although there are upright and open MRIs out there.
I had earplugs.
Not scary, but very loud, and as mentioned above, being still for 30 minutes can be difficult. Day dreaming as a freight train passes overhead.
I’ve only had a couple of MRIs, and both were full body scans. They did give me ear plugs. The second time I brought my own foam rubber ear plugs which were better than the ones at the radiology place. One thing I did do was ask the technician to tell me when we were about halfway through the process. That helped me orient myself with regard to the time spent in the tunnel.
I’ve had a couple MRIs and it wasn’t a problem. It’s narrow but it’s not like your arms are pinned against your sides or anything. I honestly get more claustrophobic traveling coach on domestic flights.
I had one of my neck. Somehow I was able to fall asleep. I noticed that the whirring was at 1 Hz so I was planning on counting along to 600 but didn’t get there. I’m a weirdo who found it relaxing.
With mine, the tech has always called out each scan before hand. Definitely helpful.
I’ve had over a dozen MRIs. I enjoy them; back in the day it was one of the few places I could lie down for a while without worrying about my pager/cell phone going off. I always request the music played be classic rock, and then I see if I recognize all the tunes.
I’ve had two MRIs where I had to lie prone instead of supine (on my chest instead of my back). THOSE were miserable. Fortunately the need for that position is pretty rare. I have sternal lesions that are being tracked.
I fell into a light sleep too but that was because they gave me drugs. When I was first put in I could not hold still because I was in pain (not awful pain but enough to not stay still).
They gave me something (pain killer…not a sedative if there is a difference) and since I had been awake for 60 hours with only fitful short naps (cuz pain) I was so relieved I fell into a light sleep in the tube. The tech told me after they had never seen someone stay so still. Dunno if that was really true but I did have a nice nap in there.
I’ve dozed off two times in the machine.
See if they can put pillows/foam cushions under your knees.
Find a place that does Open MRI. No need to be crammed into that tiny torture chamber. Should have done it last time for a full back MRI that took 45 minutes. I’m wide, my shoulders barely fit in the machine and I was already in pain so the forcing myself in just made it worse.
I always get my doc to write me a script for one valium beforehand. Take it about 20 minutes before entering the tube. That works well for me. (you will need someone to drive you home).
Another tip: make sure you visit the bathroom before the procedure. The first time I had an MRI, I asked them how long it would take. I heard “four to five minutes” so I didn’t bother to pee first. Well, what they really said was “45 minutes,” so that wasn’t too comfortable.
It’s loud and boring, but not scary unless you’re claustrophobic and not uncomfortable unless the position you need to hold is uncomfortable.
Yep, this is the way to do it. Seems especially good for the OP since the valium might also help with the back spasms she mentioned.
Too late for a scrip for Valium, as the MRI is tomorrow and today’s Sunday. But it’s comforting to read so many people saying that it’s not a big deal.
It’s at 7 a.m. tomorrow. I’ll make sure to pee just before I go in and I hope to god I’m otherwise emptied of everything; it’d suck if my body waited until 7:20 before deciding to poop.
Good tip to ask to be told when it’s halfway over. I’ll do that.
They can - I’ve had a couple - but your head is positioned in a space that’s barely bigger than your head, i.e. the inner surface of the machine is a few inches from your eyeballs. Together with the noise, that’s probably enough to be really uncomfortable for some folks. Some facilities include prismatic glasses so that when you look straight up (relative to gravity), you can actually see along a line of sight aimed toward your toes. I haven’t experienced that, but I imagine that’d be helpful in reducing one’s sense of claustrophobia.
I’ve had a head, shoulder and hip MRI all in the big one. It is clanky and noisy. That’s the magnets moving around (I think).
The worst is having to stay as still as possible for the 30 mins or so. Where I go, they pipe in music to you. Anything on Siris XM. Since they can’t use wires (well copper should be ok) they do it through a hollow tube and you get one for each ear. YMMV.
Go to the bathroom first.